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Peacemaker
It was quiet in the nursery, the hush only permeated by the beat of a cat's breath. Dewstar's eyes landed on the slim cream crescent shape, curled into her nest, and felt the tension seep from his exhausted body as he breathed in the warm scent of kits. He hadn't been in the nursery in a long time. Too long. Oakstar and Mintwhisker never had kits of their own, but they'd always checked on the queens. They'd checked on everyone, always letting their Clanmates know how much they cared. Not for the first time, Dewstar felt a deep pang of loss for the cat he regarded as the best leader SpringClan had ever had. He didn't know how he could keep his Clan from falling, let alone live up to Oakstar's legacy of quiet nobility and endless love. He didn't want to end up like Quailstar. The cat stirred. "Dewstar?" One brilliant green eye glowed up at him. "Hollystrike. How are you?" "They're asleep." She smiled gently down at the two bundles of fur tucked against her belly, but it was a sad sort of smile. "I can see that. Precious, dear things. But I asked about you." She stood carefully, using her nose to nudge Owlkit and Vixenkit closer together for warmth. "Owlkit hasn't been talking. They're old enough, but he's just stopped. Vixenkit doesn't understand, and it's angering her. After losing everyone, she doesn't know why her brother, the only one left, won't even speak to her." "Not the only one left. She has you." Hollystrike made a small noise of disparagement. "I'm not made to be a mother." "I know. I have some news. Another she-cat in the Clan is expecting kits, and has offered to raise Owlkit and Vixenkit so you can resume warrior duties." She lit up for a second, then deflated. "Resume warrior duties," she echoed, her voice full of regret. "Dewstar, I was banished from my Clan, remember?" He glanced away. "Of course. Forgive me, I didn't mean to be presumptuous." "What do you--Oh! You meant warrior duties here. Nonsense, you weren't being presumptuous. You were being kind. I am glad I can leave the nursery, though of course I'll still spend every possible second with my nephew and niece that I can. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say... SpringClan has been very hospitable to me." She hesitated. "While I'm here, I would like to patrol and hunt and help any way I can." He dipped his head at her. "That is appreciated." Her eye narrowed. "I--You're being oddly formal today." He shrugged. She dropped her head, and he said more gently, "You still haven't answered my question." "I'm fine, Dewstar. You have other things to worry about. How is the apprentice that collapsed?" Hollystrike's face tightened with concern. "The medicine cats are trying their best." Dewstar wondered if she could read through his steady voice, down to the fear beneath. Breezeflight had pulled him aside earlier, and he could tell she was holding back tears. What was wrong with Brightpaw, she'd said, could not be fixed so easily. "Gorsepaw wanted to see her." "I gave him permission, as long as a warrior is watching him." Relief showed on her face. "Thank you. I know what he did was wrong, and you have every right not to trust him. But that was really decent of you. He cares about her, you know." "I don't intend to treat anyone like dirt because they're GreenClan." He couldn't help the trace of defensiveness that crept into his voice. "Or deny the fact that a GreenClan cat could care for a SpringClan cat, or vice versa. Even if it is against the warrior code." "No, of course not," she murmured. "You saved my life." She was tilting her head. She did that a lot, he had noticed. Trying to hide the scar where Viperstar had torn her left eye. She didn't understand. Yes, she had a beautiful green gaze, and half was lost. But the scar didn't matter. Viperstar couldn't possibly rip out what mattered. "But you forget, sometimes." He raised his eyebrows. "I forget?" She was smiling a little. "Yes. You forget that I was deputy of GreenClan. I'm not just a maiden in distress." "Oh, trust me, I know. You managed to evade GreenClan, didn't you? And even before that, the first time I ever saw you. Defiant. Unafraid.Telling Viperstar the Order would never work." "I was afraid when he knocked me down, slashed my face, and banished me. Maybe I shouldn't have done what I did. It cost me," she said bitterly. "You are the rightful leader of GreenClan," he said truthfully. She finally looked at him head-on, and he hoped she couldn't see his selfish thoughts, the ones he was trying so hard to push away. "Thank you for saying that. I know there are cats in your Clan who just want us exterminated. Not restored." Dewstar shook his head. "With every passing day, it becomes more obvious that the war between GreenClan and SpringClan is a way to distract from the true danger." "The Prophecy of Rocks." "You've been eavesdropping." "Perhaps. I get bored." "You won't have to worry about that anymore." "Right. So who's the lucky--and extraordinarily sweet--she-cat?" He grinned. "You know the fluffy one?" Her eye lit up. "Chamomile! Specklenose is the father?" "Who else?" "Oh StarClan, that's so wonderful. Shall I go congratulate them?" "Of course." But she lingered on a moment. "I just wanted you to know... we all have them. Those thoughts. Not good enough, not strong enough, not brave enough. But you are. You're so young to be leading this Clan, yet you refuse to break. I'm not stupid, Dewstar. I might not be from SpringClan, but I know what strength is." "Because you have it too," he said without thinking. She laughed, stepping towards the nursery exit so that she stood beside him. "Someday, maybe, when I'm leader of GreenClan and you're leader of SpringClan... We could make our Clans work together for the vale. We could forge a peace." The sun was rising over the camp; it spilled through the nursery awning and turned her cream pelt blindingly bright. She was cut from stone and marble, scarred and whole, taken from her home and yet still regal and a born ruler. "Yes. A peace." Peace was all he wanted. It was. The intense look vanished from her face, replaced by a light-hearted excitement. "Will you watch the kits please? I want to thank Chamomile and congratulate her." "Of course." He watched her bound outside, then trotted over to the nest. Vixenkit was still dozing, but Owlkit was peering up at him with large eyes. "Hello," Dewstar said in what he hoped was a fatherly tone. No response. He couldn't help but be disappointed; he'd hoped to have some sort of magical connection with the kit that would loosen his tongue again. But of course it wasn't that easy. Scars didn't heal quickly; sometimes they took a lifetime. - - - - "Specklenose, I am going to kill you!" Minkears barged in on the two of us, eyes blazing, and turned on the tom. Specklenose gulped and backed into me, quailing in the face of her wrath. "You're going to be a father? Why am I the last cat on the face of the planet to find out about this?" "I--uh--" "I was just congratulating him on it." For a she-cat who had always been known for her cynicism and aloofness, my voice was sounding suspiciously trembly. I cleared my throat and tried for a gruffer tone. "As long as his kits don't wind up as annoying as he was when he was one." "Oh, shut up," he said, giving me a fond look, and suddenly the three of us were wrapped in a sloppy embrace, clinging to each other as we sank to the ground, limbs tangled together as we shared our warmth. I buried my face in Specklenose's fur to hide the fact that I was crying. I was so overjoyed on behalf of him and Cammy, but I was also still completely dumbfounded. Specklenose, the little kit who had pulled mine and Daisyheart's tails when we were little and chased us around the camp for countless hours, was going to have kits of his own? "You're all grown up," whispered Minkears, her tone partly regretful, partly awed. "You're going to be a wonderful father, too," I added. "And Chamomile will be a sweet, caring mother." Specklenose nodded. He looked dazed by his own happiness, his eyes shining bright as stars. "She already has practice taking care of me," he joked. "Good point," smirked Minkears. "Shut up. No one asked you." We stood up, but stayed with our pelts pressed together, talking comfortably for a few minutes. I leaned into Specklenose and Minkears, reflecting on how incredible it was that after all that had happened, I had managed to hold onto the most precious thing in my life: my friends. This was a friendship that had survived innumerable disasters, fights, tragedies, and the fact that it had made it all the more stronger.